Link-forming machine



1. SENFL LINK FomvnNG MACHINE.

APPLICATIUN FILED MAYIO,"1920.

lggfgn Patented Oct. 31.7, )1922.

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L H www LINK FORMING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAY Io, I92o.

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Patented il?, i922,

entre erre ATENT @fifqltl JOHN SENFT, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED STATES CHAIN AND FOR-GING- COMEANY, F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF DELA WARE.

Application 'filed May l0,

To .fz/l 107mm t may concer/nf: A Be it known that l, JOHN SENFT, a, citizen of the United States, residing in York,

Pennsylvania, have invented Link-Forming Machines, of which the following is a speci.- fication.

One object of this invention is to provide a relatively simple, substantial mecha nism for forming a chain link blank which shall have the faces of its rends plane and parallel, so thatwhen closed, it will form a perfect link, or when welded less current and time will be required.

Another object of my invention is to provide a link forming machine with novel means for cutting or forming the ends of the blank so that they may be later closed and whenv in this position will be perfectly opposed and substantially in contact over their entire surfaces.

l further desire to provide a machine of the character noted which shall have its parts so arranged as to permit of its operation at high speed and with a minimum of attention and repair, the arrangement being such that the length of wiie from which the blank is to be formed has its ends trimmed or cut so as to be parallel after it has been given its final form.

These objects and other advantageous ends l attain as hereinafter set forth, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a plan of a link forming machine showi'ng my invention as applied thereto;

Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively vertical sections on the lines'2-2 and 3-3, Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan, to some extent diagrammatic, illustrating the operation of the machine; and

Figs. 5 and (i are plansillustrating the link blank .made by my machine after its ends have beenv trimmed and after it has been closed respectively.

In the above drawings 1 represents a supporting frame or table, having bearings for a main driving shaft 2 to which power is applied through a pulley 3. At or adjacent its center this table is provided with a standard or upwardly extending bracket 4 (omitted from Fig. 1 for the sake of clearness), providing a guideway for vertically slicleble king. post 5; The latter LINK-FORMTNG lVIACHINE.

1920. Serial No. 30,2l0.

is actuated through lever 6 controlled by a cam 7 fixed to the main shaft 2.

Immediately under the king` post is formed an opening 8 in the table 1 which is provided with two guideways on opposite sides of the king post 5 in which are vfront side of the frame or table 1.

The second transverse slide 10 through a cam 18 is actuated from a shaft 19 supported in bearings in the side of the frame 1 opposite the shaft 12, and like it is driven from the main shaft 2 through a pair of bevel gears 20 and 21. The main shaft also has fixed to it a cam 22 which actuates a slide 23 guided by a` suitably formed portion of theframe 1 so as to be movable toward and from the king post 5.

ln a fourth guideway formed in the front portion of the frame l is a slide 24 actuated by a cam 25 xed to the front shaft 17. The king post has formed in its rear side or face a vertically extending groove or slotl 521 having substantially parallel sides designed to coact with a cutter 26 supported on and movable with the slide 28. The two slides 9 and 10 respectively have mounted on them a pair of formers 27 and 28 which with a third former 29 carried by the slide 24 are designed to cooperate with the king post 5 to forma link blank open at one end.

The front shaft 17 has fixed to it a second cam 30 designed. to reciprocate a cutter 31, positioned to cooperate with a die 32 for cutting off predetermined lengths of the wire or rod material a: from which the link blanks are to be made; and immediately to one side of this die is mounted a gripper 33 having two gripping surfaces designed to engage between them the material m. The gripper is actuated by a lever 34 controlled by a cam 35 on the shaft 2, and the latter also has fixed to it a cam 36 which through a lever 37 is caused to periodically feed said wire m through a straightening ,device 38.

Under Conditions oit-operation the maia l operative transversely movable slides 9 and shaft 2 is driven by power applied to the pulley 3 and through the cam 25 the former 29 is retracted to permit of the wire ar being fed by the lever 37 between saiditormer and the king post until its free end strikes a stop or abutment 39. Thereupon the cam 35 actuates the gripper 83 to cause the parts of it vto engage the wire and hold it in its given position while the feed lever 37 moves back or away from said gripper' and the cam 30 movesr forward the cutter 31 with cooperates with the die to cut oil' a deiinte length of said wire. Shortly thereafter the cam moves rearwardly the rformer 29 so as to bend this length of wire around the v y front portion of the kingI post into the position indicated at 021, and while said partially bent length of wire is held in this position, the two side formers 27 and 28 are moved toward each other by their respective cams 1l and 18, thus bringing the ends of the wire together as indicated in Fig. 4, so that they overhang the recess 5a of the king post.

The cam 22 then moves the cutter 26 forwardly so that it shears off the inclined ends of the blank in such a manner as to make them lperfectly parallel. The cutter 26 with the three former's 27 and 29 and 28 are then all retracted and the kingpost 5, through the cam 7 and lever 6, is moved vertically upward 'whereupon a pair of strippers 40 carried by the standard 4 on opposite sides of the king post force the completed blank off of the same, permitting it to drop through the opening 8 into a suitable receptacle.

In order to remove the sheared ends of the blank which in some instances have a ytendency to remain in the recess 52L l also mount on the standard 4 a clearing finger 43 which extends into said recess, and as the king post is raised, forces out of it any pieces of metal which may be heldwtherein.

inmediately after the former 29 is retracted to its former position, another length of the wire w is fedby the lever 37 through the straightening device 38, and between said former and the king post 5 ;-the gripper 33 being released to permit of its .pas-

Afterithe ends of the formed blank have been sheared off by the cutter 26 said blank has the appearance indicated in Fig. 5 at m2 and after delivery from the machine, it may be closed as indicated vat m3 in Fig. 6, so that its parallel lends 'are brought into y contact,'it being thus possible to make a link which is mechanically perfect and completelyV closed. Moreover as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, not only is the lconstruction of the 'machine simple and substantial, but itsjarrangement and the disposition of its parts are such that it r may be run 'at a lhigh speed. lf 'the link blanks in the form shown in Fig. 5 are to be welded, it is obvious that a minimum of current and time would be required owing to the parallelism of their ends and the completed link would have a linished appearance, without projections or fins l claim '1. The combination of means for bending a length of wire into the form. of a link blank; and means operative after the bending of said length has been completed for cutting the end faces of said blank substantially parallel.

2. The combination of a king post; means for bending a length of wire around said post to form a link blank; and a member' operative to simultaneously cut both ends ofthe blank to lgive them predetermined form. y i

y 3. rlhe combination of a king post having a recess therein; formers for bending a length of wire around said post to Vform a link blank; and a cutter coacting with the edges of the'recess of said post to make the end surfaces of the blank parallel.

4. rlhe combination of a king post' yhaving a recess; means for feeding and cutting off a length Aof a wire adjacentthe king post; formers for bending 4the wire around the post with its ends adjacent said recess; and av cutter coacting with the edges of the recess to give saidV ends a` predetermined form.

5. The combination of a movable king post having a recess; means for feeding and cutting off a length of a wire adjacent the king post; :tormers for bending said length of wire around the post with its ends adjacent said recess; a cutter coacting with the edges of the recess to give said ends a predetermined form; with means for moving the king post to disengage the formed blanks therefrom.

6. The combination'olf a king posthaving a longitudinally extending recess therein; means for moving said king post; a member extending into kthe recess to clear material therefrom when the post ,is moved; means for bending a length vof wire around the post to form a link blank; and a cutter cooperating with the edges of the recess to give the ends of the blank a predetermine form. l

7. The combination of a king post having a .longitudinally extending recess therein; means for moving said king post; a member extending into the recess to clear ymaterial therefrom when the post is moved;

means for bending a length of wire `around the post to form/a link blank; a cutter cooperating with the 'edges ofthe recess to give the ends ofthe blank a predetermined form; with at least .one stripping member positioned to lremove a' formed blank vfrom the .post when the latter is moved.

`8'. The combination -of'a king post wider 1.3,@

on one side than on the other and having a longitudinally extending recess in its Wider side; means for bending a length of Wire around said king post with its ends overhanging said recess; and a cutter cooperating with the edges of the recess to make said ends parallel.

9. The combination of mechanism ioi forming an elongated plane link blank open at one end; and means for thereafter cute `ting the adjacent faces of the ends of said blank to make them parallel.

l0. The combination of a series ol' Wire bending formers movable in substantially the same plane; a longitudinally recessed king post cooperating with said formers to shape a link blank and movable in a line substantially at right angles to their plane of movement; and a cutter cooperating with the Walls of the recess oi". the king post to give the ends of a formed blank a predetermined form. 

